[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.05,0:00:02.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(soft piano music)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.87,0:00:06.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] We're in the Shanghai Museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.44,0:00:10.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we're looking at a\Nvery early Oracle Bone.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.22,0:00:12.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is so important\Nbecause this brings us
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.92,0:00:16.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the very beginnings of\Nwriting in ancient China.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.75,0:00:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] The Oracle\NBone is on an ox scapula,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.36,0:00:20.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so it's actually the shoulder blade here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.81,0:00:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you can see carved\Nlittle tiny characters
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.50,0:00:26.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the right to the\Nleft, all in little lines.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.01,0:00:28.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And those\Ncharacters are still,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.39,0:00:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of them, recognizable\Nas Chinese characters today.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.03,0:00:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] Yeah, about\N40% of them, actually
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.67,0:00:35.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are decipherable, and we\Nhave tons of these remaining.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.63,0:00:37.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have about 200,000 of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.22,0:00:39.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] We're not\Nreally used to the idea
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.71,0:00:41.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the west that we could read writing
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.78,0:00:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's more than 3,000 years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.96,0:00:45.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And, of course,\Nthis is really important,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.32,0:00:47.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you can read history through it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.58,0:00:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we have a group of\Nthese objects together,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.75,0:00:52.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can look back and\Nsee how things evolved
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.43,0:00:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on this particular year, what\Nkinds of concerns people had.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.76,0:00:57.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] It's an Oracle Bone,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.06,0:01:00.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we know that it something\Nthat could divine the future,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.34,0:01:02.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that could help people understand
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.14,0:01:03.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what the future might bring.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.56,0:01:04.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] They would get these bones,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.99,0:01:07.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would inscribe the questions on them,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.10,0:01:10.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then a diviner would come\Nand use a particular ritual
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.38,0:01:13.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that involved a heated rod, a metal rod,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.24,0:01:14.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they would touch to the bone,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.73,0:01:17.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the way that the cracks would evolve
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.50,0:01:20.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the questions would divine the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.08,0:01:22.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] So the cracks\Nwould be read by someone
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.12,0:01:24.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had a kind of special power.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.12,0:01:25.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] The questions\Nwere all directed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.66,0:01:27.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,toward somebody named Shangdi,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.44,0:01:30.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the deified ancestor of\Nthe Shang royal cult.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.26,0:01:31.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we're talking about the Shang Dynasty,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.68,0:01:33.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is in the cradle of civilization,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.82,0:01:35.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Yellow River Valley, the capital.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.71,0:01:37.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the kinds of questions\Nthat people would ask
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.33,0:01:38.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would involve everything from
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.75,0:01:41.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the very mundane to ritualistic things.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.22,0:01:42.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When should a sacrifice be performed,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.86,0:01:44.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a particular rite of worship.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.41,0:01:46.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This one we're looking\Nat, a question about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.56,0:01:48.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the bumper harvest, when to be planting.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.87,0:01:50.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And, ancestor worship
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.01,0:01:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was incredibly important\Nduring the Shang Dynasty,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.53,0:01:55.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's something that will change with
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.65,0:01:57.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the next dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.82,0:01:58.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] Now, when\Nwe get into the Zhou,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.90,0:02:01.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we see a different concept of the divine.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.25,0:02:03.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] So, Shangdi\Nwas the particular
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.48,0:02:07.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancestor/god of the Shang Dynasty.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.03,0:02:08.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Exactly, royalty.\N- And it makes sense with the
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.51,0:02:10.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- next dynasty--\N- Exactly (drowned out).
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.51,0:02:12.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- you'd have to adjust that.\N- You'd have to adjust.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.58,0:02:14.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] So, we see these on,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.06,0:02:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially on scapula of oxen,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.53,0:02:19.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also other animal bones,\Nand also tortoise shell.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.82,0:02:21.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] Tortoise shell\Nis another favorite medium,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.86,0:02:24.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably also as tortoise\Nwas an important mythological
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.69,0:02:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,creature from very early times.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.08,0:02:29.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, here, you can see that\Nthe medium itself is very flat,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.31,0:02:31.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's a good surface to carve into.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.43,0:02:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, when we're looking\Nat these kinds of things,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.76,0:02:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,keep in mind that this is what we have.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.84,0:02:37.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have bones, these\Nstood the test of time,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.69,0:02:38.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that doesn't mean that there
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.58,0:02:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wasn't also writing on other things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.45,0:02:42.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And the\Nwriting that we're seeing,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.17,0:02:45.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we know that Chinese\Ncharacters stand for words,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.36,0:02:47.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but, perhaps, at this time in history,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.75,0:02:50.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the signs that we're seeing\Nare more pictographic--
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.53,0:02:51.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Yeah, they've been--\N- until it evolved.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.97,0:02:53.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] Yeah, they've\Nbeen slowly decoded
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.46,0:02:54.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, actually, art historians have spent
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.92,0:02:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quite a bit of time\Ntrying to decipher this,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.16,0:02:58.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,enough so that we can read them,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.79,0:03:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but, at this point, writing\Nis a functional medium.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.14,0:03:04.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's to communicate, in\Nthis example, with the gods.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.01,0:03:06.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Eventually, it evolves into calligraphy,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.40,0:03:08.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which becomes this art form.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.09,0:03:11.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And, so, the\Nimportance of Chinese writing
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.02,0:03:13.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,here in this very early moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.71,0:03:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] A lot of major developments
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.90,0:03:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Chinese society right, we've got
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.08,0:03:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,centralized power as a\Nmajor theme coming out
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.32,0:03:21.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the writing, the idea\Nthat people can communicate
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.25,0:03:24.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and organize, and this idea\Nof creating a history here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.96,0:03:26.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] And, so\Nlucky that we can at least
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.98,0:03:28.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,untangle 40% of it,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.55,0:03:29.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Yeah, 40%.\N- of these thousands
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.98,0:03:31.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of bones that survive.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.22,0:03:32.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- Exactly.\N- And, one day,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.18,0:03:33.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'll understand even more of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.89,0:03:35.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- [Narrator] Even more of them, exactly.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.36,0:03:37.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(piano music)